Cheriyanad

Cheriyanad
—  village  —
Cheriyanad Location of Cheriyanad in Kerala and India
Coordinates	9°16′07″N 76°35′14″E / 9.2687200°N 76.587230°E / 9.2687200; 76.587230Coordinates: 9°16′07″N 76°35′14″E / 9.2687200°N 76.587230°E / 9.2687200; 76.587230
Country	India
State	Kerala
District(s)	Alappuzha
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)
Codes • Vehicle • KL-

Cheriyanad, (Malayalam: ചെറിയനാട്), a village in Kerala state of Indian Union, belongs to Central Travancore Region and specifically comes under Chengannur Taluk in Alleppey District. It is placed almost midway between Chengannur and Mavelikkara towns. Cheriyanad is a special grade panchayat. Cheriyanad Sri Balasubrahmanya Swami Temple(Malayalam: സുബ്രഹ്മണ്യ ക്ഷേത്രം) is a famous spot in Cheriyanad.

History

Cheriyanad was once located on the boundary of the kingdom of the Kayamkulam Rajah and in 1746 along with the rest of the kingdom it was annexed to Travancore. Cheriyanad possesses a Pada Nilam or a battlefield which is now occupied by a school. Till 1980s there was a "Kalithattu" (a raised square platform fortified with four heavy stones at the boarders and a Banyan tree as well. During temple festival, the famous "Pallivilakku (High rise wooden RATH with lighted lamps) from each Kara brought to the ground. Even now, the tradition continues. Some prominent families owned Kalaris i.e. martial arts gymnasiums and also private temples.

Traditionally Cheriyanad consisted of nine original Karas or villages which are now: Athimanchery, Edavankadu, Mandapariyaram, Thuruthimal, Moolikode, Edamuri, Mampara, Ariunnisery, and Alakode. For administrative purposes it is subdivided into fourteen Karas. Cheriyanad is home to an important Temple, located west of Padanilam jn; (500 m) Mavelikara-Puliyoor-Chengannur road, of the Hindu deity Subramanian which is included in the jurisdiction of the high priests of the Sabarimala Temple, the Thazhamon Madhom Namboodiri family of Chengannur. This temple is located in the heart of Cheriyanad , also known as Athimuncherry.

Schools and Hospitals

Cheriyanad village has the following important schools:

• St Joseph's English Medium School I.C.S.E.
• Sri Vijayeshwari High School
• Devaswom Board High School
• Sri Vijayeshwari Higher secondary school
• Devaswom Board Higher Secondary School
• Sri Neelakanda vidyapeedam
• S.N.College chengannur

Multi Speciality Hospital

• Sanjivani Multi Speciality Hospital, Kollakadavu http://www.smsh.in/index.html

Rail and Road Access

Cheriyanad is just 7 km from the town of Chengannur and an equal distance to the town of Mavelikkara.Both these towns have Railway stations at which most of the important trains stop. Cheriyanad itself has a small railway station where the passenger trains stops in the morning as well as in the evening.

Recent developments include upgrading of Cheriyanad Railway station to a goods transit station for which work had already begun. This is done as part of upgrading Ernakulam-Kottayam-Kayankulam to double line. Once that becomes a reality, Cheriyanad could expect a leap in the rail activities.

A travel to Chengannur on bus will cost you Rs.9.0 only and to Mavelikkara Rs.7.0 only but using train it will come down to Rs .2 only. Frequency of buses is approximately 15 minutes. Buses are also available directly to Kayankulam/Haripad from where you can catch buses that ply on NH 47 towards Trivandrum and cochin. For travelling via MC road you can catch buses at Chengannur. Trivandrum is around 115 km from Cheriyanad whereas Cochin is 106 km (85 km by rail) far.